Those Left Behind
by Late Night Iridescence
Summary: The Four Beasts are beyond anything the Kings have faced before, and for the first time since they met, Toriko refuses to bring Komatsu along. AU after 196.


So, this isn't my best writing. I'm really still trying to get back into the swing of things, and you can probably tell. It also didn't turn out the way I was hoping it would, but what can you do.

The idea for this came into existence during one of the round robin sessions I participate in with several of my Toriko bros, back during 196 when it looked as though Komatsu and Rin had been forced to sit this one out.

Thus, SPOILERS.

those left behind

Komatsu was happy. Excessively so, considering the destruction faced by the Human World if something wasn't done about the hideously strong monsters approaching from every point of the compass (not that Komatsu was particularly worried about the Four Beasts being stopped; his bishokuya were just as hideously strong, in a less terrifying - if no less chaotic - sort of way). Potential incoming catastrophe aside, Komatsu felt safe and content and pleasantly full, surrounded as he was by all four Heavenly Kings.

And somehow, maybe because of the hard fight ahead, or maybe because - miracle of miracles - the Kings were learning to accept each other again, they were here and _getting along_. Komatsu had half expected to find the lot of them tearing Zen Ou apart when he arrived. To see them sitting together, sharing a meal and (mostly) civilized conversation filled the chef with warmth and a great deal of hope. They hadn't even argued too badly about where he was going to sit; Coco guided Komatsu into a chair between Toriko and Chef Yuda, and that was the end of it.

With the food gone and everyone preparing to part ways, Komatsu anticipated some sort of spat or shoving match to break out in lieu of an actual farewell. But the Kings remained unusually docile even as the atmosphere thickened with tension.

"I'm out of here before you ladies start hugging," Zebra grumbled, eyes on the enormous horse making its way toward them.

Sunny brushed his hair over his shoulder, glaring. It looked like he had something nasty to say about Zebra's attitude, but Coco cut him off.

"Let's save the hugs for later, shall we? We're in a bit of a hurry," he said, voice mild and a small smile on his lips. Zebra snorted, the sound loud and quickly stifled, involuntary amusement.

Toriko laughed too, Rin at his heels as he strode over to greet Terry with a scratch behind the ear. Komatsu glanced at the scattering bishokuya, wishing he had a little more time to say goodbye despite the increasing urgency of the situation. They needed to head the beasts off before they crossed the defensive line, and that meant leaving as soon as possible. With one last look over his shoulder - reminding himself that that he'd see them again soon, that they'd agreed to reunite and celebrate afterwards - Komatsu joined Rin and his partner.

"Are you coming with us, Rin-san?" he asked, smiling up at the tamer. It would be good to have Rin and her special smokes along. She nodded enthusiastically, eyes bright as she shifted closer to Toriko's side.

That's when Komatsu noticed Toriko frowning at them both, lips pressed tight, gaze flickering over his smaller companions. Part of Komatsu was aware of the other Kings freezing in place.

After a beat of silence, Komatsu utterly confused at the sudden change in his partner's demeanor, Zebra spoke. "You aren't comin' with us. Either of you."

"What?!" Rin screeched, vocalizing the surprise and displeasure Komatsu was feeling as well, struck dumb with shock and unable to say or do or even think anything. "What do you mean we're not coming?"

Rin marched right up to her brother, upset but unwilling to take it out on Toriko, and Komatsu eyes darting helplessly between his partner and Coco, wordlessly begging one of them to explain why he was being left behind after all this time, after all the danger he'd followed them into again and again and again. Hurt pinched at his heart, curling his hands into ineffective fists.

"It's not safe, Komatsu-kun," Coco said, raising his voice to be heard over the violent shouting that had erupted from the siblings.

_That's never mattered before,_ Komatsu wanted to say, a dull pain in his chest making him feel uncharacteristically belligerent. Instead, he struggled to work his mouth around the words to ask, "How is this any more dangerous than the Gourmet World will be?"

"Capture level 100 isn't particularly high when compared to what we'll find there, no," Coco agreed, while Toriko's hand fell across the back of Komatsu's neck, both comforting and apologetic, "But there's so much more at stake. It's different when our lives are the only ones at risk, don't you think?"

He was right. Of course he was right. With Rin and Komatsu around, the chance of Toriko being distracted by their presence increased, and he wouldn't be able to pay near as much attention to shielding them as he normally would; there were literally billions of people depending on all four Kings fighting at their very best. If the chef and tamer got underfoot…

Komatsu shivered and sighed and leaned back against his partner, who slipped a hand around to rest over his heart. He still hurt, but logic took most of the sting out of it. Sunny and Rin had wound down, still until Rin's glare softened and she buried her face against her brother's shoulder, eyelashes suspiciously damp. Komatsu's own worry spiked; he was far more unsettled about his friends heading out to battle the strongest monsters in they'd ever encountered when he had to stay behind. It made little sense - he should be relieved to be kept_out_ of trouble for once instead of rushing straight into it - but he was just so used to following the Kings everywhere the thought was incredibly discomforting.

Coco appeared in front of them (always so, so quiet) and crooked gentle fingers beneath Komatsu's chin, tilting his head back against Toriko's stomach so their eyes met. "I'm sorry, Komatsu-kun. We'll come back to you as soon as we're finished."

Komatsu nodded. If Coco said so, it was true. There was nothing he believed in more than the Kings' strength.

A shadow fell across the trio, Zebra's bulk looming over them. "You done flipping your shit, kid? Let's go already." Zebra was scowling, but there was no real heat in his voice.

"Sorry, Zebra-san," Komatsu said, reaching out to grasp one of the bishokuya's giant fingers, pleased that Zebra allowed it.

Sunny and Rin joined them, the tamer immediately latching onto Toriko's arm.

"Chef Yuda will take you someplace safe."

Komatsu blinked once, twice, and inhaled sharply. He twisted to face his partner, expression incredulous. "You want me to hide? I can't do that!"

"What else can you do?" Toriko was frowning again.

"Anything!" Komatsu could think of nothing - _nothing_ - worse than just sitting around waiting for the Kings to get back. He'd go crazy without something to distract him - cooking, preferably - and no way to keep up with what was happening.

Toriko and Coco exchanged considering looks over Komatsu's head, but it was Rin who spoke first. "I have an idea. Since these jerks won't take us," Zebra's warning growl turned into a snarl halfway through as Sunny stepped on his foot, "we can go help the Chief. He set himself up in Food Park Plaza with a ton of ingredients to pass out. He could definitely use you, Chef Komatsu." She flashed him a small grin.

"That's perfect, Rin-san." Komatsu beamed back at her. Having ingredients to cook would distract him thoroughly.

Rin nodded and separated from the group, presumably to contact Mansam and arrange some sort of transport.

"Are you certain, Komatsu-kun? If we fail, the Four Beasts won't be able to resist such a large gathering of humans. They'll head straight for you."

"The IGO has bunkers for high ranking officials that aren't strong enough to fight. You'd be better off there," Toriko added.

"How can I hide when there are so many people who need the comfort of a good meal?" Komatsu smiled and shook his head. "Besides, I know you'll win."

And so they would.

* * *

Rin was tucked away in the temporary communications tower set up along the outside edge of Food Park Plaza, looking out across the vast sea of nearly 800 million humans, each and every one of them scared and tired and full of renewed hope as her brother and his fellow Kings took their places between them and the oncoming storm.

She was exhausted herself, body worn down from a double dose of constant movement and emotional distress. Rin needed to eat, but every time she so much as glanced at the four screens displaying a hurricane of violence, her stomach cramped in on itself and all thoughts of food fled. Her brother would eat, she reminded herself. It didn't help.

Not even the delicious smells drifting up to the tower tempted her. Rin leaned out a glassless window frame to get a better look at the flurry of harried chefs below, seeking one in particular. Komatsu was still working in a large, transparent tent, meant to shelter the camp kitchens from rain and wind while keeping the chefs cool as they cooked. Since they'd arrived, he hadn't left the tent for anything but serving meals to hungry refugees. He was open, friendly, and relatively well-known for both his Century Soup and association with the Kings. Rin hadn't failed to notice how bright smiles from Chef Komatsu were infectious; not only did the frightened, displaced men and women he came into contact with leave looking just a little more optimistic, but the mood inside his kitchen tent was notably more relaxed.

She felt so guilty, cowering up here while Komatsu laughed and cooked and socialized, clearly used to being on his feet for several hours at a time in far worse conditions. He had every reason to be just as agitated as she was, yet he managed to conceal his fear completely. Steady hands and unwavering concentration…how did he do it? How could he be so calm while his partner, his closest friends, danced toe-to-toe with the greatest threat they'd ever faced? She'd heard about Toriko's aborted attempt to enter the Gourmet World alone - first hand from her brother, who she'd smacked for encouraging him - and how frantic Komatsu had been to bring him back alive. Surely this wasn't any different.

Rin's gaze drifted from Komatsu to screens where the fighting continued, extreme destruction kicking up so much dust that she could barely make out the sleek, darting shadow her brother had become. Only the occasional tendril of hair broke free of the cloud. Sunny and his prey would likely move in a moment, allowing the cameras a better shot, but until then Rin could only chew on her lip in worry.

Unable to take the wait, she turned back to her Komatsu-watching. Rin frowned when she was unable to spot him again. Not in his kitchen or among the refugees - where had he…?

The door swung open behind her, admitting the chef in question (sweaty and nearly at his limit; even cooking for the Heavenly Kings couldn't prepare him for an endless crush of starving people) and the tray he had balanced on his palm. Komatsu smiled at her, a smaller, more familiar quirk of his mouth, a far cry from the confidence he'd been projecting earlier.

"You haven't eaten, Rin-san," he said quietly. "So I brought you something light."

Rin lifted the sweet, aromatic parfait from the tray and pulled Komatsu into a one-armed hug. How he kept track of her when he had so many other things to worry about she'd never understand, but she was grateful, and even her lack of appetite lessened when faced with food her gourmet cells loved.

"I bet you haven't eaten either." She urged Komatsu into a chair and perched beside him, unwilling to let him back into the rush until he'd rested for a minute. Rin took a mouthful of parfait, eyes sliding closed as almost half a day without anything in her stomach caught up to her all at once.

Komatsu shrugged. "I've grabbed something here and there. Remember that I don't need anywhere near as much to eat as someone with cells."

"That's not an excuse," she accused, waving her spoon in his face. "What will we do if you collapse?"

He raised his hands in mock surrender, dipping his head to let her know that he'd eat a full meal when he could. "I'm not really that important, though. There are many chefs here ranked higher than I am."

"It's not about rank, Komatsu. You're pretty famous and partnered with Toriko on top of that. Seeing you so composed while he's fighting reassures, well, everyone." Rin was surprised he hadn't realized it yet. "Not that I know how you _can_ be while they're out there, like…" Rin gestured to the screens, taking another bite of fruit and cream to calm her nerves.

Komatsu gazed fixedly at Toriko's screen, not turning to look at her as he said, "Cooking helps - I've been using it as a way to de-stress my whole life. But I'm also absolutely certain they'll win. They've gotten so strong, Rin-san." His expression was fierce, pleased and determined. "I know Toriko-san and the others will come back. They promised, and I believe them."

Rin startled, staring at the chef with a mixture of shock and awe - she couldn't decide if it was incredible or a little sad that he trusted them so much. A lick of jealousy tugged at her heart, because even she didn't have such blind faith in Toriko and her brother.

But maybe that was where his true strength lay: not only in his extraordinary skill as a chef, but the surprising emotional balance that let him anchor the Kings and draw them together again.

"Not that I'm not nervous. I won't really be able to relax until they're standing in front of me," Komatsu murmured, rubbing at his nose in embarrassment. Rin laughed, covering one of his talented hands in hers.

Soon after, he returned to work, and Rin watched him like a hawk until he'd eaten a decent meal, feeling unaccountably protective.

Now she knew what to look for, Rin could see that Komatsu wasn't as calm as he appeared; the screens went dark, one by one, and each time the chef would watch and wait for the feed to return. If - when - it didn't, he'd simply begin cooking again, smile just a little more pinched, though not, somehow, forced.

When they arrived (bloody, starving, and glowing with triumph), Komatsu only laughed (bright with pride and relief both), and opened his arms to welcome their heroes home.

* * *

A/N - A zombie AU is up next. Yes, I'm writing zombie fic, and it's _so much fun_. Expect that by the end of the month.


End file.
